USGS Study Identifies Vast Untapped Shale Gas Potential Beneath Algeria’s Southwestern Desert
A new assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that Algeria’s Grand Erg Occidental–Ahnet Basin contains an average of 80.1 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable undiscovered shale gas, reinforcing the country’s position among the world’s leading unconventional gas holders as international energy companies expand their interest in North African resources.
By Dr. Hana Saada
ALGIERS — Algeria’s long-term energy outlook has received fresh scientific backing after the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published a new resource assessment estimating substantial technically recoverable shale gas reserves beneath the country’s southwestern desert, highlighting the region’s strategic importance in the global unconventional gas landscape.
Published as Fact Sheet 2026-3005, the assessment—Assessment of Undiscovered Shale-Gas Resources in the Grand Erg Occidental–Ahnet Basin Province, Algeria, 2026—estimates a mean of 80.1 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of technically recoverable undiscovered shale gas, equivalent to approximately 2.27 trillion cubic metres of natural gas.
The study focuses on the Grand Erg Occidental–Ahnet Basin Province, one of Algeria’s principal sedimentary basins, where geological formations dating from the Silurian and Devonian periods have long attracted interest from energy researchers because of their organic-rich shale deposits.
Eight Geological Assessment Units
The USGS assessment divides the resource into eight geological assessment units spread across two petroleum systems—the Silurian and Devonian—reflecting the basin’s geological complexity and hydrocarbon potential.
Among the largest estimated resources are:
- Ahnet Silurian Shale Gas Assessment Unit: 9.6 Tcf
- Oued Mya Silurian Shale Gas Assessment Unit: 8.6 Tcf
- Ahnet Devonian Shale Gas Assessment Unit: 5.4 Tcf
- Benoud–Melghir Depression Silurian Unit: 5.1 Tcf
- Sebaa Basin Silurian and Devonian Units: Combined estimate of roughly 4.2 Tcf
Additional assessment units cover other prospective formations, including the Timimoun Basin, another area considered highly prospective for unconventional hydrocarbons.
Geological Conditions Support Resource Potential
According to the USGS, the basin’s resource potential is underpinned by favourable geological characteristics, including exceptionally organic-rich shale formations deposited during the Silurian and Devonian periods.
The assessment notes elevated Total Organic Carbon (TOC) concentrations—reaching up to 14% in certain formations—alongside Hydrogen Index values of up to 580 milligrams of hydrocarbons per gram of TOC, indicators generally associated with high-quality hydrocarbon source rocks.
The shale intervals also exceed 200 metres in thickness in several parts of the basin, providing extensive storage capacity and favourable geological conditions for long-term gas accumulation.
Strategic Significance for Algeria’s Energy Sector
The publication comes as Algeria continues to position natural gas as a central pillar of its long-term energy and export strategy while seeking to expand upstream investment in both conventional and unconventional resources.
The USGS findings reinforce previous international assessments that rank Algeria among the world’s leading holders of technically recoverable shale gas resources. Broader estimates have previously placed the country’s total shale gas endowment at more than 700 trillion cubic feet, although figures vary according to methodology and basin coverage.
The assessment also coincides with growing interest from major international energy companies. Chevron and ExxonMobil have been engaged in discussions with Algeria’s state-owned energy company Sonatrach over potential cooperation in hydrocarbon exploration and the development of unconventional gas resources, supported by reforms introduced under Algeria’s revised hydrocarbons legislation.
The new publication forms part of the USGS’s ongoing World Petroleum Resources Assessment Program and represents an expansion of earlier work. Unlike the agency’s 2019 assessment, which focused primarily on conventional petroleum resources in the same basin, the latest study provides a dedicated evaluation of Algeria’s shale gas potential, offering one of the most detailed scientific assessments to date of the country’s unconventional energy resources.
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